Order Members. We now have the requisite quorum, and, therefore, we will begin business. Hon. Members, resume your seats quickly so that we can proceed. We are now ready to start business. So, Hon. Members take your seats and consult in low tones. Proceed.

SPECIAL MOTIONS

ADOPTION OF REPORTS ON APPOINTMENT OF PRINCIPAL SECRETARIES

Hon. Members, we will proceed today with the decision you made. Therefore, this means that the Mover will have seven minutes and the rest of the membership will contribute for three minutes each. So, the Chair of the Departmental Committee on Administration and National Security can proceed and move his Motion for seven minutes. We will move in that order. Proceed.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I beg to move the following Special Motion:- THAT, this House adopts the Report of the Departmental Committee on Administration and National Security on the Vetting of a Person for Appointment as Principal Secretary, laid on the Table of the House on Wednesday, 16th December, 2015, and pursuant to the provisions of Article 155(3)(b) of the The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Constitution, approves the appointment of Mr. Micah Powon as the Principal Secretary, State Department for Correctional Services. From the outset, I just want to point out that the Committee conducted the vetting exercise and established the following about this nominee. He has vast experience in the public service. He started as a junior researcher and rose through the ranks to become the Managing Director of a State corporation Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, the nominee has excellent working knowledge of structural legislative and regulatory framework of the public service. The nominee has 20 years’ experience in the agricultural sector. Such experience would come in handy in reversing the fortunes of prison farms. This is an issue we are grappling with in the Prisons Department. The Prisons Department has a problem of wage bill. The wage bill has to be managed by the incoming Accounting Officer. The nominee has been in a managerial position for nine years. He served as an Accounting Officer in the Cotton Development Authority, which position prepared him for the role of a Principal Secretary. The nominee was recruited in a competitive, transparent and fair process before nomination for appointment and was recommended for the position of Principal Secretary by the Public Service Commission (PSC) The nominee does not have integrity issues. He is tax compliant and has received clearance from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB). He has also been cleared by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the famous Credit Reference Bureau (CRB). In a nutshell, as a Committee, we looked at various issues. With regard to his professional experience and courses attended, he ticks the box and has no issues. He has good professional experience. He has served the Government in various capacities throughout the country. He has no issues to do with potential conflicts. He is also okay on integrity issues. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, we managed to probe and ask the nominee to tell the Committee what he was going to do in the department, which we know has very many challenges. The first challenge is the pending bills. The other one is congestion in prisons. Third is lack of an upper limit in life sentences; fourth, medical services for inmates and prison staff; fifth, terms of service for prison staff or prison warders; and, sixth, obsolete equipment in the prison industries. The equipment being used were inherited from the colonial government. On matters of accountability, the nominee convinced the Committee that he will handle those issues appropriately. Without much ado, I wish to now state that the Committee recommends that having considered the suitability, the capacity and the integrity of the nominee, and pursuant to Article 155(3) of the Constitution and Section 8(2) of Public Appointment (Parliamentary Approval) Act No.33 of 2011, the National Assembly approves the nomination of Mr. Micah Powon for the appointment to the position of Principal Secretary in the State Department of Correctional Services. That is the position of the Committee. I now call upon my able Deputy, Hon. Alois Lentoimaga to second. I thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker.

Okay. Let us have Hon. Lentoimaga. I cannot see your card here. There are a number of requests. Put it at the intervention slot please. You have not even placed the card. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I am sorry about the delay concerning the logging in of the card. I want to second my Chairman in support of Mr. Micah Powon as the Principal Secretary for Correctional Services. During the interview, the Committee looked at the performance and the experiences of this nominee. Throughout our interaction with him, we found out that he has potential in management and organization of correctional services. The nominee, during his career in the organization of Government, went through courses that have enabled him to improve his CV. This qualifies him to head an organization like the one he has been nominated to. The nominee did an advanced management course at the Kenya Institute of Management. He has attended a course on Centre for Corporate Governance. He has also attended a course in strategic leadership and change management during his tenure of services. His experience is also worth noting. He has a long working experience in the public service. He has served for 20 years, both in middle and senior-level positions at the Kenya Research Institute. On the issue of integrity, this nominee is above board. We want people with no integrity issues to manage institutions. Our experience reveals that most of the people go through trouble of integrity because of procurement. However, this nominee, having served in the civil service for a long time, has a long experience on how to manage resources and how to procure services so that he does not get into trouble. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, since you have given me a short time, I second this nominee to be appointed as the Principal Secretary in Correctional Services.

Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me the opportunity to support this nominee for the appointment as the Principal Secretary for the Department of Correctional Services. This is a person I know very well. I knew him as a civil servant who has worked tirelessly. I also knew him when he was working for KARI in Mombasa and when he was promoted to head the Cotton Board. He did a wonderful job to bring the parastatal to the level where it is now recognised. So, I have no doubt at all about his capabilities, his hard work and serving the Department of Correctional Services. The Prisons Service has many farms. This is a person who has studied agriculture. He has a Degree in Agriculture and I know he is going to do a good job in improving the Prisons Service. The Prisons Service has many problems. With his ability, I know he is going to do a wonderful job. I plead with my colleagues to approve him as a Principal Secretary (PS).

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for this opportunity. I wish to support the Motion and indeed, support the approval of one Mr. Micah Powon for the PS position. I must say that this is a nominee that I have not come across. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Considering the report that has been filed, this is a nominee who has no pending integrity issues. He is a nominee who has equally not been convicted by any court of law. This is a nominee who is prepared to meet the challenges within the Prisons Service, in particular the question of congestion in our prisons which you will find everywhere. After the approval and subsequent appointment of this nominee, we expect that he will travel across the country so that he can see for himself what is happening to our prisons and seek ways in which he can improve the condition. The Constitution of Kenya brought in the question of vetting. This is a very important element. My advice to the appointing authority is to ensure that all these nominees, both the Cabinet Secretaries (CSs) and the PSs who have gone through this process, are actually given an opportunity to discharge their duties. In this process, the nominees gave out their outlines in the manner in which they intend to handle their duties. It will be quite sad that immediately after appointment, there will be a reshuffle and a particular nominee shifted to a department that he had probably not desired to be. So, in all fairness, if we are to achieve the objectives of this process of vetting, there is need for these nominees to be given an opportunity and a good timeframe in which they can discharge their duties. If that happens, we will be progressing quite well. With that, I wish to support the Motion.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity this morning to contribute to this Motion for the nomination of PS for the State Department of Correctional Services. I have not met this nominee, Micah Powon, but from the way the Report has been put by the Committee Chair, I believe the Committee went through each and every detail of this particular nominee. They came up with a voluminous report, which I believe they have perused and seen that he qualifies. After looking at it, I also agree that he qualifies for the same. He is well versed in agriculture and he is going to a department in the government where we have many people who, if they are well utilised and if he puts his expertise into proper action, we can do a lot of work, especially in utilising the prisons’ land which usually lie without any development. We can use them to produce food and sustain not only the prisons but even this country. Also, let me take this opportunity to thank the President for deciding to put this department under one PS. This is because the Prisons Department is quite large. It has a big population and many tasks. Apart from trying to make use of those prisoners, it also has the task of trying to correct these citizens so that when they come out of prison, they can fit into the society and stop their weird ways which made them go to prison. I believe that Micah Powon will go an extra mile and see that the Prisons Department is well taken care of. Things like congestion, poor living standards and many other vices which we find in prisons should be got rid of. Otherwise, I wish him all the best of luck in that department. I support.

Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for acknowledging that. I want to say one or two things, not necessarily about this person because I do not know him well. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

This person is going to be in charge of a very important department, the Prisons Service. In this era of mega scandals and serious corruption cases, this person is going to do a very important job in terms of preparing ground to host people who have been accused of serious crimes, the real big fish. Now that we are soon going to name those who are behind the Eurobond Scandal, this person is going to play a very key role in preparing the facilities to house these characters. We need to have it on record that his role is going to be very important. Besides that, there is the issue of State departments. I know the Constitution does not prescribe the maximum number of State departments that can be created. It baffles every single Kenyan that the Government can run with a number of State departments for close to three years and then along the way, you double the number. How can you manage the Government in such an arbitrary manner? Even if the Constitution does not prescribe the maximum number of State departments, are we going to continue seeing these State departments being created day in day out to satisfy the whims of specific persons or are we going to have a clear framework of managing the Government from the start? I believe that when you take power, you should have a roadmap as to how you want to run your government to deliver services to the people without creating departments arbitrarily in the course of your term. Therefore, as we continue debating these matters of the PSs, that matter of creating State departments arbitrarily must be addressed in the fullness of time. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I stand to support this Motion. For record purposes, I sit in the Departmental Committee on Administration and National Security which vetted this candidate. Listening to the candidate and looking at his credentials, this nominee is suitable for this job. He has a Degree in Agriculture and he has worked in most agricultural institutions. First, most prisons have huge chunks of land that can be utilised for agriculture to feed the prisoners and sell the surplus to other Kenyans. I am saying this because we have visited some prisons and what we found is that some of them like Shimo La Tewa Maximum Security Prison and the Naivasha Maximum Security Prison have huge debts in terms of the food they consume. If they are able to produce their own food, then we will not have that debt. Secondly, this nominee has climbed up the ranks to the current position he holds. He has a lot of management skills and a lot of experience in budget monitoring. So, he is able to manage this State Department. The creation of this position is a good gesture by this Government. In the past, this Department has been under the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government and was swallowed by that Ministry. Now that they are independent, they will have their own budget in order to prioritise their needs. That will speed up reforms at the correctional services such as congestion, poor sanitation and other challenges in the prisons. With those few remarks, I beg to support.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I would like to support the Motion. I do not know Micah Powon but, according to the report of the Committee, the nominee satisfies most of the requirements in terms of education and Chapter Six of the Constitution. Therefore, he is a Kenyan who fits to serve other Kenyans in that capacity. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

This nominee would have fitted well in the Department of Agriculture, but all is not lost because the correctional services also do a lot of Agriculture. As the Hon. Member who spoke before me alluded to, the Prison Department has a lot of resources which, if well utilized, can feed it and other institutions of this country. I have a problem when institutions are not utilized very well. The Kenya Defense Forces (KDF), for example, is supposed to be doing a lot of infrastructure in this country such as building bridges, roads and drilling boreholes. However, we do not use them. We have lost our priorities in Kenya. Therefore, if Mr. “Bowen” makes the prison services a productive Department---.

Sorry. Yes, it is Mr. Micah Powon. The second advantage with this nominee is that he comes from the rank and file of the Civil Service. That was a good gesture by the President so that the Civil Service is not demoralized. This would motivate those who are on the waiting list or on the stairs of the promotion of the Civil Service and will make them have hope for the future. There are challenges ahead of this nominee, as alluded to by the Members of Parliament who spoke before me. These are issues to do with breakages in prisons. It is very awkward to see prisoners breaking gates and disappearing from our prisons. I do not think that is due to---.

Very well. I now call upon the Mover to reply. Hon. Kamama, please reply. Hon. Members should be aware that we are only dealing with each Motion for 30 minutes. That decision was made by you yesterday.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, as stated earlier, I have heard comments from Members of Parliament and they are very positive. I am sure wherever the candidate is will take on board what has been recommended by various speakers. Therefore, the candidate has a wealth of experience and is a senior civil servant. I remember when I was the Minister of Public Service briefly, I met him in Mombasa when he was managing one of the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) stations. I was impressed by his presentations when I gave civil servants time to air their views on the challenges they were facing. As they say: “A new broom sweeps better.” Therefore, we expect this candidate to reform the Prisons Department. He should as well take cognizance of the fact that there is a report that was compiled by Maj. (Rtd) Madoka. The contents and recommendations of that report were implemented by none other than the former Vice-President, Hon. Moody Awori. That is why you see prisoners being ferried in good buses these days. These buses are now getting old. Therefore, we expect him to stick to that report and see what has not been implemented. We want him to implement that report and do better than before. I beg to move.

Very well. For obvious reasons Hon. Members we will not put the question now. The question will be put in the afternoon, or later, if circumstances change. Let us move on to the next Order. Let us have the Hon. Chairperson for the Departmental Committee on Environment &amp; Natural Resources, Hon. Amina Abdalla.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I beg to Move:- The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

THAT, this House adopts the Report of the Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural Resources on the Vetting of Persons for Appointment as Principal Secretaries, laid on the Table of the House on Wednesday, 16th December, 2015, and pursuant to the provisions of Article 155(3)(b) of the Constitution, approves the appointment of Mr. Charles Sunkuli as the Principal Secretary, State Department for Environment; and Dr. Margaret Mwakima as the Principal Secretary, State Department for Natural Resources. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, on behalf of the Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, and pursuant to the Provisions of Standing Order No.199(6), it is my pleasure, privilege and honour, to present to this House the report of the vetting of Mr. Charles Sunkuli and Dr. Margaret Mwakima as Principal Secretaries. The Committee held three meetings to deal with this mater. None of the two nominees received adverse reports against them. Therefore, we went ahead and did a vetting exercise for the two. It is our pleasure to note that Mr. Charles Sunkuli, who is currently the Managing Director of Ewaso Nyiro South River Basin Authority, has a Bachelor’s degree in Education from Moi University. He also has an Executive Masters of Business Administration from ESAMI, Tanzania. The candidate has a lot of knowledge on environmental matters. In fact, one of the regional authorities he was heading will be under the State Department, where he will be the Principal Secretary. We had interacted with this candidate even prior to him being appointed the Principal Secretary. We note that he holds the regional authority with the least amount of pending bills. The other regional authorities have quite hefty pending bills. Therefore, he is definitely a better manager of resources and we noted this while vetting him. Dr. Margaret Mwakima has a very strong academic background on environmental matters. She has a PhD in Eco-Tourism Management and would be bringing a wealth of experience in natural resource management. We, therefore, concluded that Mr. Sunkuli and Dr. Mwakima are qualified and suitable to serve as Principal Secretaries in the State Department for Environment and Natural Resources. The Committee, therefore, recommends that the National Assembly approves the appointment of the two. In addition to this approval, my Committee would like to make two further recommendations. First, as part of job orientation, the PSs should be given an urgent orientation on financial management to enable them to be at par since they come from different backgrounds. Secondly, as already alluded to by an Hon. Member while contributing to the previous Special Motion, the Government should focus on the need for internal promotion of persons in the Ministries rather than appointing PSs from outside. It is our view that there are many public servants who have served this country diligently, and who are able to rise to the level of Deputy Secretary and eventually become PS. Such persons end up retiring very disillusioned. I believe that, for purposes of strengthening our Public Service, the PSC should try its best to have a higher percentage of persons being recommended for appointment as PSs from individuals who have worked in the public service.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

On behalf of my Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, I would like to second the approval of these two nominees – Mr. Charles Sunkuli as PS for State Department for Environment, and Dr. Margaret Mwakima as PS for State Department for Natural Resources.

Mr. Charles Sunkuli has the necessary experience, competence, academic and technical experience to serve as PS under this docket. He is a holder of both Masters and First degrees. In terms of managerial experience, he has served as the Managing Director for Ewaso Nyiro South River Basin Authority for five years. He has no integrity issues, having been cleared by all the relevant Government agencies. In this light, we find him suitable for this position since he has both academic and technical experience as well as the knowledge to serve under this docket. In addition, he is a pastoralist from Narok, the great Masaai Mara ecosystem. As a pastoralist, he is an environmentalist by nature and birth. I cannot find anybody better suited to serve under that docket.

Dr. Margaret Mwakima is a holder of a PhD, a Masters Degree as well as a first degree. She has excelled in academic training and has also served as a Member of the Board of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) – one of the state corporations which will be under her watch. She has published many books in that field. In terms of managerial experience, she has served as the MD for Afrosayari Limited for five years. She has no integrity issues and, therefore, we find her quite suitable to serve as the PS for State Department for Natural Resources. She is a minority from Taita Taveta County and a woman, and for that reason, we find her extremely competent. We thank the President for enabling minorities to serve in his Government.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me a chance to support this Motion on the approval of these two nominees, who actually come from the pastoralist communities of Kenya. At the outset, I want to thank the President for nominating Mr. Charles Sunkuli, on behalf of the people of Narok, Kajiado and the pastoralist communities at large. I also congratulate the two of them on their nomination. These two nominees have a very rich experience in terms of natural resources. I only want to urge them, as they join their new line of work, to showcase their experience by improving that Ministry and State Department. Natural resources, as a sector, needs people who can put in place policies and practices that can help us sustain our environment. Mr. Charles Sunkuli has been working with Ewaso Nyiro South River Basin Environment Authority. He has a lot of dedication and commitment in improving the environment. I also want to congratulate Dr. Margaret. She is a lady from a pastoralist and minority community. I support what my other colleague, Hon. Amina Abdalla, has just said – that they need total orientation on financial accountability because these are people who are now going to be accountable. In the past days, we have seen PSs getting into problems because of financial accountability in their ministries. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for this opportunity. I take this opportunity to congratulate the two nominees for two respective responsibilities that have been given in the State Departments of Environment and Natural Resources. Looking at the two CVs of the two candidates and the Report, I believe that the two have prerequisite qualifications required for the responsibilities that they have been entrusted. Although Mr. Sunkuli does not appear to have the credentials in the area of environment, I believe the responsibility at the level of Principal Secretary is a leadership position and it requires somebody who is focused and he can handle the docket that is given. We expect the two nominees to bring focus into the environment because environment is everything. I believe by doing the right things that has been entrusted to them, they can work towards making our environment better through utilisation of our natural resources in a better way and making the best out of what we have. This country is endowed with natural resources and if we utilise them properly, then we can improve the lives of the majority of Kenyans. As recommended in this Report, it is important that when people are appointed to serve in the Republic, they are inducted in a way that they are well prepared so that they do what it takes to move our country forward rather than being involved in corruption that has affected our country of late. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Order Hon. Members! Be patient. We will be putting the Question immediately after this Motion. That is for the first one and this one. So, Members are requested not to leave the Chamber so that we can retain the quorum. That is a request from the Chair. Let us have Hon. Wanyonyi, the Member for Kwanza.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I want to take this opportunity to thank and congratulate the two nominees. Particularly, I want to talk about Charles Sunkuli for the State Department of Environment. I have worked with him. I used to be the Managing Director of both Tana and Athi River Development Authority (TARDA) and the Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA). I can see Eng. Mahamud who was my PS that time for Regional Development Authority Ministry. We worked very well with him. Mr. Sunkuli is somebody that I know and he fits the bill. Mr. Sunkuli was a Managing Director of the Ewaso Nyiro South Development Authority and he has grown through the ranks. He is very shrewd given his background. I have a number of relevant departments that he worked in, one of which he was Planning Officer, Regional Planning Manager and Deputy Chief Executive. I worked with him in various seminars. He is somebody that can be a very good PS. He is a very committed man. He has started some environmental programmes in Ewaso Nyiro South Development Authority. I admire him for initiating the programme of planting bamboo trees in Ewaso Nyiro South. That is one thing Mr. Sunkuli has done very well on. In fact, the bamboo project in Ewaso Nyiro South is one of the very key programmes that befit him. It is part of the afforestation programme. Therefore, Sunkuli should be able to do this job very well. I ask the House to support him. Thank you.

Proceed the Member for Taveta. Now that I did not see, I can guarantee that if I did I would have taken very punitive action if anything of that nature would have happened. I would not even mention who the Member is. Proceed the Member for Taveta.

Thank you. I want to add my voice in supporting this Motion by the Chair of Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, Hon. Amina and her team for vetting these nominees, Charles Sunkuli and Dr. Margaret Mwakima. I want to thank the President for his decision in making sure that Taita Taveta has also been brought on board more so in his Executive where Taita Taveta was lacking and even picking a PS nominee who is well versed in that area because that is the area of her training. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

More so Taita Taveta is where we have the Tsavo National Park, the biggest God-given resource in this country, the wildlife and even other natural resources like minerals and all that that are found in Taita Taveta. Dr. Margaret Mwakima has a lot of experience in the tourism sector. So, she will be able, in the Executive, to add value to the people who are working in the tourism sector and work with them to add value to the Jubilee Government in realising the full potential of the natural resources in our country. As for Charles Sunkuli, his experience in Ewaso Nyiro is something which adds value. We will see this adding some value to this Government. I beg to support.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I am a very worried person because for the time I have been in this House since morning, we are here to support or not to support the recommendations on record. However, everybody who stands up talks about: “We are very lucky, we, as Taitas. We are lucky, we, as Turkanas.” Now, people who come from Mumias, like us, and who have not been considered, what are we supposed to do? I thought that we are supposed to only talk about the records. If that is the case, this is tribalism of the highest order!

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I want Hon. Naicca to withdraw his mention of the Turkana community. Yesterday, I said that I am not happy because the Turkana people did not appear in the list. So, let him withdraw it.

Let me give the Floor to the Member for Kajiado Central, Hon. Memusi. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity to join my colleagues in supporting the Motion of approval of the appointment of the PSs for State Department for Environment and Natural resources, Mr. Charles Sunkuli and Dr. Margaret Mwakima.

Let me state for the purpose of the record that I am not in support of Mr. Sunkuli because he is my tribesman. I support him as a Kenyan with credentials that have passed through the Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. I personally know Mr. Sunkuli. He is a man of integrity. As the Departmental Committee on Environment and Natural Resources has stated, his track record speaks for itself. He has been able to manage resources well as the Managing Director for Ewaso Nyiro South River Water Basin Services. His pending bills are the minimum in that docket. So, I stand to support the appointment of Mr. Sunkuli and Dr. Margaret Mwakima.

My advice to the two nominees is for them to deliver services to Kenyans and to leave good track records. This is a time when civil servants have been marred with allegations of corruption. The two are getting in Government with clean track records and they have an opportunity to leave the service with the same. So, I stand to support the appointment of the two.

I wish to support the nomination of Mr. Charles Sunkuli and Dr. Margaret Mwakima. They both come from marginalised regions like mine. Specifically, I want to support the appointment of Mr. Charles Sunkuli. I know him as a serious professional with great wealth of knowledge in his specific areas. So, I totally support him because he will not let this country down.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I just want to say that these two individuals are here because of their qualifications. The issue of people being happy because the nominees are from their regions is secondary. These are very qualified individuals and they deserve the positions. My recommendation on financial management is based on the fear that, in Kenya if you are a PS or you head a parastatal that starts with the word “National or Kenya”, the possibility of going to the corruption courts are very high. So, we are just urging the new PSs to take heed that the fight against corruption is now extremely serious. We do not want them to fall prey. So, they should be given orientation on financial management.

Hon. Members, I will now put the Question on the Special Motion on the appointment of Mr. Charles Sunkuli as the Principal Secretary, State Department for Environment; and Dr. Margaret Mwakima as the Principal Secretary, State Department for Natural Resources.

THAT, this House adopts the Report of the Departmental Committee on Transport, Public Works and Housing on the vetting of persons for appointment as Principal Secretaries, laid on the Table of the House on Wednesday, 16th December, 2015, and pursuant to the provisions of Article 155(3)(b) of the Constitution, approves the appointment of Ms. Aidah Njeri Munano as the Principal Secretary, State Department for Housing and Urban Development; Dr. Paul Maringa Mwangi as the Principal Secretary, State Department for Public Works; Mr. Wilson Nyakera Irungu as the Principal Secretary, State Department for Transport; and, Mrs. Nancy Karigithu as the Principal Secretary, State Department for Maritime Commerce.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, after receiving the names of the nominees to the position of Principal Secretaries, the Committee held meetings on Thursday, Friday and Monday, last week and conducted the exercise of vetting. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, the Committee did not receive any memorandum touching on the suitability or otherwise of the nominees. The Committee received response from the HELB, the KRA, the EACC and the Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) and confirmed that there were no pending integrity related cases against the nominees. Ms. Aidah Munano, nominee for Principle Secretary for State Department of Housing and Urban Development was born on 22nd February, 1957. She completed her secondary education in 1975. She has a degree in Architecture from the University of Nairobi. She graduated in 1981 and holds a Master’s Degree from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) in Construction Management. She has a vast experience having joined the Ministry of Works as an Architecture and rose to the positions of Superintendent Architect, Senior Superintendent Architect, Chief Superintendent Architect, Principal Superintendent Architect and finally becoming a Works Secretary. Her responsibilities included co-ordinating and implementing building construction projects in various Government departments. She is very qualified for the post and the Committee found her suitable for the position she has been nominated for. Prof. Paul Mariga Mwangi, nominee for the Principle Secretary of State Department of Public Works was born in 1959. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture from the University of Nairobi and a Master’s of Arts in Urban and Regional Planning from the same university. He also has a PhD from JKUAT in Environmental Planning. He has vast experience in public administration having served as a senior expert in Planning and Project Management in Works Force Development in Kigali, Rwanda. He has served as the Vice-Chancellor and Associate Professor at Kigali Institute of Science and Technology. He headed the Department at JKUAT from 1992 to 2006. He has been working for the Government of Rwanda by advising the The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, the third nominee, Mr. Wilson Nyakera Irungu, nominee for Principle Secretary, State Department for Transport was born in 1982. He is a Public Certified Accountant. He is a graduate from Stanford University, USA and is qualified for that position. He is the youngest nominee because he is only 33 years old. The Forth nominee is Mrs. Nancy Karigithu, nominee for Principle Secretary, State Department for Maritime Commerce. She is the immediate former Managing Director for Kenya Maritime Authority. She has experience in that field. She is a lawyer from the University of Nairobi with both Masters and Bachelor degrees from the same University. Having said that, I would like to recommend that having considered the capacity and integrity of the nominees and pursuant to Article 155(3) of the Constitution and Section 8(2) of the schedules of Public Appointment (Parliamentary Approval) Act, No.33 of 2011, the Committee recommends that the National Assembly approves nomination of Ms. Aidah Munano, nominee for Principal Secretary for State Department of Housing and Urban Development; Prof. Maringa, nominee for Principal Secretary for Public works; nominee, Mr. Wilson Nyakera Irungu, the nominee for Transport; and Mrs. Nancy Karigithu, nominee Principal Secretary for Maritime Commerce. I beg to move and ask Hon. (Cpt.) Wambugu to second.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I beg to second. First, I would like to commend the President and the Committee because of the good work they did for putting in a lot of hours in going through the names and qualifications of the said nominees. If you look at these nominees, you will find that this is the department where there was good gender balance because we had two ladies and two gentlemen who were very qualified starting off by Mrs. Aidah Munano. This is a lady I met in the last Parliament when I was serving in the Departmental Committee on Transport and Housing. This is a lady who should even have risen to that position long time ago given her experience. She represented the Permanent Secretary in very many meetings. If the Government can move in this direction by getting this type of people with this kind of experience, our country will surely move fast and to very high levels. With regard to Paul Maringa Mwangi, while we were interacting with him at Kamiti, something very interesting came out. All these people have a lot of passion for their country. Mr. Maringa has been working as a senior person in Rwanda. Most of us, when we go to Rwanda, we always talk of a country that has moved very fast and is well planned in everything. These are the brains that are behind what we are seeing in Rwanda. Mr. Wilson Nyakera is a gentleman who has been in the financial sector and he did management science and even engineering science. This is a young gentleman who has moved the whole financial industry, including banks in this country. When we talked to him about what he is going to do in the financial sector, especially the transport Sector, he said that the sector requires a lot of funding. He said that he is in a position to move all the circles in the sector to make sure that the transport sector is properly funded. Ms. Nancy Wakarema Karigithu, is an expert in Marine affairs. She is one who came up with Marine Act, which is now saving our country. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support this Motion. I would like first of all to start by congratulating His Excellency the President for giving us such qualified individuals with requisite skills within their fields. We are definitely looking forward to seeing them do the work that is required in the manner that will ensure that the Jubilee dream comes to fruition. On the issue of gender regarding principal secretaries, it has actually gone beyond the 30 per cent requirement. We appreciate that we now have such qualified women employed by the Government as Principal Secretaries. They are highly qualified because they have the requisite degrees and international experience. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, we are seeking to move Kenya to the 21st Century level of development. Looking at the nominees’ wealth of experience, regardless of where they come from, they present the best. Ms. Munano’s promotion being within her Ministry shows that those who work diligently within their ministries will at some point get promoted to the positions of PS and CS. There has been reinforcement in terms of the importance of education, which is an important aspect in ensuring that the youth in our country get jobs they are qualified for. None of the nominees has less than a Masters degree. We want to thank them. I would like to request them to give the Government the service that is required of them once they take up their positions. They should also curb rampant corruption. We want to expand the space for people in this country to participate in development.

I join the rest of the Members of this House who spoke before me to recommend approval of the nomination of these persons for appointment as PSs. The Committee scrutinised all the academic qualifications of these nominees. They also gathered information about where they were working before. They have done a commendable job. We should move the country forward. We have less than two years before elections are held. Therefore, we should, with speed, approve these nominees so that they can take up their positions sooner so that they can deliver services to the public. By the time of election, we should have taken the country to a higher level. I support the appointment of these nominees to the respective departments. By the New Year, the appointees should have settled and started offering services to Kenyans.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I rise to support this Motion. I have looked at the credentials of the four nominees. I think they are all qualified. I appreciate the appointment of Nancy Karigithu. I have interacted with her. Not only does she have the necessary qualifications as a maritime lawyer and specialist for a long time, but she also has the passion to advance this sector. This country has ignored the maritime sector The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

for a long time. This sector has the potential of employing thousands of youth but it has not been recognised. The fact that the President has, for the first time, created the Department of Maritime shows that he has come round to this knowledge. Currently, there is a shortage of law. By the time Ms. Nancy Karigithu left Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA), reforms were in process but they stalled after her departure. I hope that she will take up this matter from where she left it, so that we not only protect our coastal commerce but we also employ our youth. However, we have a challenge in that we have not standardised maritime qualifications and services in this country. We have also not protected the maritime sector such that foreigners come from abroad, take it over and muscle out local investors. I wish them well. They certainly can expect support from Parliament.

Ms. Aidah Njeri Munano has the necessary qualifications. With her appointment, housing issues in our towns will be corrected. Given the opportunity, I believe that she will perform well. She assured the Committee that the youth, women and persons living with disabilities will get the 30th per cent tenders as stipulated in the Constitution.

On re-organisation of State Departments, she indicated how that will be handled. She confirmed that slums will be upgraded so that Kenyans can have decent housing. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Prof. Maringa Mwangi is a qualified nominee. I am sure that he will do well in his duties. On corruption, he said he will do what is required to ensure corruption will not be in his office. Wilson Nyakera Irungu is also qualified. Given the opportunity, I am sure he will perform well. Ms. Nancy wa Karima Karigithu is a qualified nominee, having gone through her educational and professional qualifications. I can confirm that she is---

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I want to join my colleagues in supporting the appointment of these nominees. However, regional balance was not considered. Kakamega County has no nominee out of the 30 nominees in the various departments. It is important to note that Kakamega County has over 3 million residents. We found Aidah Munano to be very competent in her job. We know that she has done a lot of work. Currently, she is the Director of Housing in the Ministry. We have challenges in small towns like Mumias where we have slums that need upgrading. We expect her to do the same as she has done in Kibera. She is also credited to have been the first woman architect. We know she is going to do a good job.

Dr. Maringa has been an Advisor of Infrastructure in Rwanda. Rwanda is a country which is credited with almost zero tolerance to corruption. We know he is going to take this department a notch higher. This young man, William Nyakera Irungu, really impressed us when we were vetting him. He is a young man but if you look at his qualifications, you will find that he is a scientist in financial services. He has advised many companies. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Mrs. Karigithu is definitely qualified. She is an expert in maritime operations. She is responsible for our membership in the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). When we had a meeting in May, we were rated number eight for the first time since 2008. She will do a good job.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for allowing me to add my voice on the recommendations of the four Principal Secretaries(PSs) who are going to serve in the State Departments of Housing, Urban Development, Public Works, Transport and Maritime Commerce. I believe that their vast experience as far as we have been told by the Committee is going to improve the working conditions mostly in housing where we need to see improvement throughout the country.

We want Paul Maringa to come with the experience from Rwanda to ensure that project management in public works in Kenya is working properly. Sanity should be restored in our transport sector. I am sincerely happy with the gender balance shown in these appointments.

Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support the Motion and commend the President for nominating these very highly qualified officers who have a lot of experience. I want to particularly mention Mr. Wilson Nyakera Irungu who has got a unique engineering course rather than the traditional course we normally have. He has a Bachelor of Science, Management Science and Engineering and Financial Analysis and Decision Engineering degrees. He is one of the youngest PSs at 33 years. I hope that he will do the job.

At the onset of Independence, we had young Permanent Secretaries like the late John Michuki, Matiba and Ndegwa and they did a very commendable job. I hope he will reengineer Kenya Airways to make profits.

I thank the Members for supporting this Motion. I want to retaliate that the persons we interviewed were actually very competent and qualified for the posts. This time round, we have got people who are qualified to be nominated for those positions. I wish them all the best and request the Members to approve the nomination of these persons so that they can be appointed.

I will not put the Question. I will put it at a later time when it is most appropriate. So, we will move to the next Order. Let us have the Chair of the Departmental Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Cooperatives. Proceed, and you have seven minutes, Hon. Mahamud.

THAT, this House adopts the Report of the Departmental Committee on Agriculture, Livestock &amp; Cooperatives on the Vetting of Persons for Appointment as Principal Secretaries, laid on the Table of the House on Wednesday, 16th December, 2015, and pursuant to the provisions of Article 155(3)(b) of the Constitution, approves the appointment of Dr. Andrew K. Tuimur as the Principal Secretary, State Department for Livestock, and Mr. Patrick Nduati Mwangi as the Principal Secretary, State Department for Irrigation.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all the Members of the Committee for their input and invaluable contribution during the deliberation and vetting exercise. At the same time, I want to thank and commend the Fourth Estate for the coverage of the proceedings of the Committee to enhance accountability and transparency on the vetting exercise.

Article 118 of the Constitution and Section 6(4)(9) of the Public Appointments Act No.33 of 2011 provides for public participation in this process. As per the advertisement of the Clerk, the seven day notice was given in the daily papers. However, the Committee did not receive any memoranda on the two nominees. Touching on the integrity and the leadership stipulated in Chapter Six as key in all appointments, the nominees have been cleared by all the institutions, including the EACC, the CID, the HELB, the KRA and the CRB. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Dr. Andrew Tuimur has been nominated as Principal Secretary for Livestock. Mr. Tuimur was born in 1960 in Nandi County. He went to the University of Nairobi and did his fourth degree as a veterinary surgeon. He did his Masters in Veterinary Science in Edinburgh University. His first assignment was at the University of The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Nairobi as an Assistant Lecturer in the Faculty of Veterinary Science, specifically the Department of Clinical Studies. After about a year, he joined the Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC) as a Veterinary Officer and worked in Nakuru Division. He rose through the ranks from a Technical Director to a Managing Director, which position he is holding to date. Mr. Tuimur has worked in different institutions. He was Chairman of Agro-Chemical Food Company, Acting Chairman of the Kenya Seed Company between 2014 to date, Director in Chemelil Sugar Company and an officer at the National Standard of Councils. Therefore, having been a veterinary doctor and a surgeon in veterinary science, he has vast experience in managerial positions. As I said, he rose to the rank of Managing Director of the ADC. Serving as a Principal Secretary in livestock docket, he will oversee the ADC. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, during his tenure at the ADC he made a lot of transformation. For instance, an extra bull station was built in Kitale. He has also developed varieties of grass in the country.

Thank you. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. Let me move to the second nominee who is Patrick Mwangi Nduati. He was born in 1969 in Kiambu County and holds a Bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering and a Masters in Environmental Science. Mr. Mwangi has vast experience. His first assignment was in the Ministry of Local Government. He has also worked in international organizations, for example, IRC. He has been working as a senior officer in the World Bank. He has worked in various countries in the world. He has worked in the Far East, in West Africa and in this country in different capacities. He has vast experience in issues of water and irrigation. Therefore, both candidates have been recommended by the Committee. We request the House to adapt the Report and approve them so that they can serve this country. They both have met the criteria required as per the vetting regulations. I now request Hon. Wanyonyi to second this Motion.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to thank the two nominees for the positions of the Principal Secretaries in the Ministry. As it has been explained by my Chairman, we did not have any problem with the two appointees, particularly, Mr. Andrew Tuimur who is coming in as the Principal Secretary in Livestock and Cooperatives. As my Chairman has explained, Tuimur’s qualification fits the job. His employment record is vast and relevant in this particular Ministry. He has worked at the ADC for some time where he dealt with livestock programmes. We found him suitable for the job. He is very knowledgeable. He answered questions clearly and we have no doubt that he will bring some transformation in the Department of Livestock, in the Ministry of Agriculture. I am, therefore, asking the House to support the Committee and pass this Report because this is somebody we can rely on. He is a cool and organized man and I have had a chance to work with him personally because the ADC is largely in Trans-Nzoia. He has worked very well compared to the past Managing Directors of the Corporation. The second nominee, Mr. Patrick Nduati Mwangi, equally exhibited good qualities. He has good academic qualifications as highlighted by the Chairman. We found him suitable to serve in agriculture because he is currently working for the World Bank and has handled very many programmes on the same. He has worked in East Timor, West Africa and currently, he is handling a number of programmes. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

When we asked him about irrigation, he seemed to have the grasp and knowledge of the subject matter. We, therefore, have no doubt he will bring his wealth of experience to the Ministry. I ask this House to approve his nomination as the Principal Secretary for Irrigation. I second the Motion.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I also wish to join the rest of my colleagues in supporting these appointments. Without belabouring the point, the experience and qualifications of these nominees are giving us a lot of hope in terms of service delivery. The experience across board, other than the academic qualification and the support from our colleagues in the Opposition, gives this country a lot of hope that the future lies in good performance in terms of development. It is for us to ask of them that while we offer them support, they need to complement that support with good performance. We hope they know that the major problem in this country is corruption. It is our belief that they are going to assist the President and the entire Government so that we can deliver to Kenyans. A person like the Hon. Sen. Charles Keter who is level minded is actually going to add value in the running of the affairs of this country. My time is up. Thank you, Hon. Speaker for giving me this chance.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this chance. At the outset, I confirm that I followed the whole process of nomination to this point where the Committee has given its findings and recommendations. In terms of professional qualifications, all these nominees merit. At first, I was rising on a point of order because everybody in this House was in support of their tribe, region or religion. Some of us were hurting inside because when I look at this Motion, I wonder! I join others who will say that in that boardroom, they will not even speak English or Kiswahili, but in their mother tongue. When I listen to our President talking about unity and defeating tribalism, I do not think it is in tandem with this. It pains me. When I look at a whole page and see four nominees who are from the same region, same language and same tribe, I think about my sister Ngilu, Nduva Muli, Matemu, Grace Kaindi. They are at home. There is no way I can celebrate this list. Sometimes, I wish the President could preach wine and not give water.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I am rising on a point of order to ask whether Hon. King’ola is in order to debate issues relating to ethnicity. I am sure this House debated and made a resolution on the CSs that were approved yesterday. The Member has no business taking this House back to the issue of the CSs who were approved yesterday. You should find him completely out of order in line of what he is talking about. He is debating matters to do with ethnicity. He should dwell either on the merits or demerits of these people on the basis of their qualifications.

All right. I hear you. Maybe to guide Hon--- The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

No! Let me speak to that. On the issue of relevance, I think Hon. Makau is relevant. He is debating issues of the appointments. There is no problem there. The only problem is you have a choice of supporting or opposing. So, you do not have to bring in issues or those other side-shows. Proceed in a manner that is allowed. Proceed.

Can you give me the microphone? Sometimes, I also wish Hon. Members can respect their colleagues. A member has just walked in and he has not even heard what I am talking about and yet, he is raising points of order. The Member for Kikuyu is drunk with power. I am very bitter. I am free to either support or not and it is my obligation to do what I think is right. Right now, when I look at Dr. Andrew Tuimur and Mr. Patrick Nduati Mwangi, I am talking about 42 tribes in this country. I am addressing about not seeing anybody from where I come from. I am a representative of those people and there is nobody from my area in the list before the House.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. Without much ado, I hope this country remains a unitary state and I hope that regions will be got rid of. Tribalism is a killer of this nation and it is a vice we must remove by all means. It must start with the President. If this does not continue, I do not think we are uniting Kenya. So, I do not support.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me the opportunity. I am a bit perturbed. I would have been very much at home if the Member gave me a formula that can divide two positions into 42 positions. I would really love to know that. If you have two positions and you have to give 42 tribes, then that will be a very godly and magical move. This issue of tribalism has become a monster in this country. When I sit here most of the time, it hits me inside because I am one of those Members who are married outside their tribe. I know a few others who are in my position. Sometimes, I wonder if my children are their mother’s tribe or mine. That is because I have given them names across both places where they come from. They have names from their mother’s motherland and from mine. One day, when their names will come here, they will be judged by their names. It is a very backward move. Back to support of this Motion, Livestock and Irrigation are departments in this country where most of the rural Kenyans normally depend on. Livestock is a livelihood in North-Eastern Kenya, in the Mt. Kenya region, in Central region and even in the Kisumu region. Livestock is actually one of the main things that the common mwananchi interacts with. I see what the President has done. I congratulate him for, at least, matching talent and qualifications with the job description. This is because when you have a veterinary surgeon or doctor in charge of livestock; it means that he does not have to rely so much on his technical support to be able to lead this country into a productive one in terms of livestock both, for local consumption and export. On the issue of irrigation, we know that one of the biggest challenges in agriculture in this country is relying on rain-fed agriculture, where we have to wait for seasons. With a civil The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

engineer who has worked even in the World Bank--- World Bank is a very reputable organisation. We expect that this person must have credibility. So, I believe Patrick Nduati Mwangi is highly credible when it comes to accountability because the World Bank does not give jobs to people who do not have credentials. With that wealth of knowledge in both departments, I believe that all of us, including whose tribes that have not been nominated here, will benefit from the services of those gentlemen as they serve the country. With those few remarks, I support the Motion. Thank you.

Now having known Hon. Ngunjiri for a long time, I think he is headed in the right direction. Therefore, Hon. Members, I am trying to look at this other side and I am seeing not very near, Hon. Fatma. Is she in the House? Okay, I, therefore, go to Hon. Melly.

I thank the President for appointing Dr. Andrew K. Tuimur and Mr. Patrick Nduati Mwangi as Principal Secretaries (PSs) for the State departments of Livestock and Irrigation. Dr. Nduati Mwangi is an engineer in water services and is a specialist in dam construction. He has a wealth of experience in World Bank funded projects. Currently, he is a specialist working on dam construction in Malindi and other parts of this country, to ensure that we have enough water. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Dr. Andrew K. Tuimur has a wealth of experience in livestock production. As a graduate of Veterinary Medicine and a Lecturer, he has rose through the ranks from being a Divisional Livestock Officer in Nakuru to the current position of Managing Director of Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC). A few months ago, he managed to establish the first bull station in the country in Kitale. He will promote the production of livestock in this country. The position that the President has given him is going to promote livestock production in the country. Dr. Nduati Mwangi will also promote agriculture in terms of food and enable us to change from rain-fed agriculture to irrigation. I support the appointment of the two PSs. Thank you.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity to support the two nominees. Looking at their academic credentials and working experience together with their teaching experiences from various universities, I support their appointment because I know that we have been longing to have people who are experts in various fields. Dr. Andrew K. Tuimur, being a specialist in livestock and that line of operation, I believe he will help Kenyans from all parts of the country, in spite of their various standards of living and their communities. I believe he will spread out his wings because there is a difference when you are being supported by other staff. But in this case, he will be heading the Ministry. Therefore, he will need to open up and accept everyone who comes into his office, without minding where they belong or where they come from.

Mr. Patrick Nduati comes from the World Bank environment; he has worked in various areas of water and sanitation. He should embrace all Kenyans from wherever they come from, and put everything in place so that we can be served. All these appointees are coming in knowing very well that all Kenyans are fighting corruption. Therefore, they should not come in to cultivate corruption, but to fight corruption. With those few remarks, I thank you for giving me this opportunity. I support.

Okay. There is an Hon. Member here who seems not to have carried a card with her. I would like her to proceed to the Dispatch Box and spell her name and constituency for the purpose of the HANSARD. That is because without the card, we will not know her or her constituency. Hon. Member, you will get the microphone in a short while. Do not tap it; it will work in a short while. Alright, you may proceed.

Thank you, Hon Temporary Deputy Speaker. I have been requested to spell my name. I am Hon. Regina Muia, Member of Parliament (MP) for Kilome Constituency. I stand to support the appointment of the nominees. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

After going through the Report, I have seen that they are qualified and they will do a good job. I am wondering that an MP can stand before the House and start talking about tribes and who should be nominated or not. I am a Member from the Opposition and the nominees come from the Jubilee Coalition. The Coalition appointed people who voted for them overwhelmingly. I do not see why one would even stand here and start challenging his Excellency. I am very happy because the PS for Health is a Kamba who has come from a place which did not vote for the Jubilee Government. He is now a PS for Health because he is qualified. As I stand here, there is a PS for ICT and Innovation who is a Kamba. He never voted for the Jubilee Government. We do not want discrimination in this House. Somebody should not talk about who should be nominated or not. His Excellency was looking for people who are qualified, focused and who can take this country forward. Therefore, I am not going to agree with that Hon. Member. I challenge the Hon. Member who stood here and started talking about Kambas. The Kamba people were recognised. Dr. Mailu who is the CS for the Ministry of Health was recognised. I support the appointment of the nominees into the Government. Thank you.

All right. I can see the Hon. Members for Kikuyu and Samburu constituencies are on their feet. Just resume your seats. I will sort you out in a short while. I just want to clean up a few things here. This is 11.38 a.m. We had agreed on 30 minutes a piece and it is time for the Mover to reply. Hon. Members for Kikuyu and Samburu, is it possible that whatever you have in your chests, can be thrown in the next order which is just next to us? Thirty seconds is short enough. Let me see if you can keep those 30 seconds. Member for Kikuyu, I do not see you on my list. How am I supposed to see you?

Order! Order! That means you have donated everything because you only have three minutes; which is fine to me. That is Hon. Justice Kemei; Hon. Amina Abdalla--- Who is the third one? The Mover, who is the last one? Can I hear your voice? Can I hear the voice of this senior Member of the National Assembly? Who is the third person to whom you are donating your time?

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I rise in support. Let me say that the President got it right when he nominated these people for appointment as CSs and PSs. He picked persons with competence and professional qualifications. He has looked at persons who believe in the ideals of public service. The two PSs in the Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Tuimur and Mr. Mwangi have rich and fulfilling careers in livestock and water.

I want to support the nomination of Dr. Tuimur and Mr. Patrick Nduati. I want to congratulate the President for putting the right persons in the right jobs. It is very easy to support individuals when they have been given jobs out of meritocracy. As a livestock doctor and a person, Dr. Tuimur inherited a very badly managed parastatal and the effort that he has put in improving it must be commended. This is a very good reflection on the President as well; for recognizing the good work that Dr. Tuimur has done and promoting him.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this chance. I support the two nominees whom we vetted and saw that they qualify for the jobs. Dr. Tuimur is qualified to be the PS for the State Department for Livestock because we want the livestock sector in this country to grow so that people can get more milk and meat and export the excess. He also knows a lot about this sector.

The second one, Bw. Nduati, as you can see, has been doing a lot of work in irrigation in this country. When we looked at his CV and his oral presentation, we got satisfied that he was very qualified. I support him. I thank the President because this time round, he has appointed people who are qualified for the jobs. As the Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Co- operatives, we have problems with irrigation and livestock in this country.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I want to thank all the Hon. Members who have contributed to this Motion. They have said nothing but the truth. These two gentlemen have been appointed on professional basis and they qualify. The issue of ethnicity is not one to be debated in this august House. We have to avoid this issue as much as possible.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I beg to reply. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

SPECIAL MOTIONS

APPROVAL OF NOMINEE FOR APPOINTMENT AS PRINCIPAL SECRETARY

THAT, this House adopts the Report of the Departmental Committee on Education, Research and Technology on the Vetting of a Person for Appointment as Principal Secretary, laid on the Table of the House on Wednesday, December 16, 2015, and pursuant to the provisions of Article 155(3)(b) of the Constitution, approves the appointment of Dr. Dinah Jerotich Mwinzi as the Principal Secretary, State Department for Vocational and Technical Training. At the outset, I want to thank my Committee for the support they gave me as we vetted this person. We have a very qualified lady who has been proposed for appointment to the position of PS for State Department for Vocation and Technical Training. I also want to thank the President for finding it important to split Education into three departments now that we are moving forward to empower the people who are engaged in technical training. As a Committee, we hope that she will do a very good job to make sure that technical training is not just preserved for people who have not performed very well in school. As we look at the curriculum review, we can start technical training from the early stage of basic education and progress all the way to secondary and higher education, so that we can have well qualified technicians. The nominee was cleared by EACC, HELB and all other relevant authorities. We received two memoranda. One of the memoranda was from Mr. Absalom Mabachi Toili. The Committee went through it and the sworn affidavit. The Committee’s conclusion was that the issues raised in the memorandum did not directly involve Dr. Mwinzi. They were issues which had been handled by the Ministry. The complainant had been issued with a termination letter of a project and complained that he had not been paid. He had been given a chance to go to court as he had never complained before. The Committee, therefore, dismissed the petition. The second memorandum was about polytechnic instructors who had not been paid. We went through the memorandum and again the whole issue is under the Ministry. The Ministry said that they are going to pursue it even after this process is over by next year, so that we can make sure that the 1,274 instructors at the polytechnics are paid for the seven months after their contracts ended when there was a transition from the national Government to the county governments. I would like to inform this House that Dr. Mwinzi is well qualified. We looked at her academic qualifications, employment record, professional affiliations, potential conflict of interest, the knowledge of the area that she has been assigned or proposed to take, her integrity, vision, leadership, expectation and key priorities. She explained to the Committee the position she is currently holding at the Ministry of Education. Dr. Mwinzi has previously worked at the Ministry of Youth Affairs and later transferred to the Ministry of Education. She has been holding some technical jobs and she has received several compliments from various levels on the work that she has done. She holds a The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

PhD in Education, Communication and Technology and a Masters of Philosophy in Religion both from Moi University. She has held various leadership positions. This is a lady who has grown from being a secondary school teacher to a university lecturer, assistant dean of students and to a dean before joining the Ministry. All across, when we looked at her record, she has performed very well. As we support this nominee, our prayer is that Members of Parliament will get the impact of her being the Principal Secretary (PS) because already, we have the new technical institutes that we have started building in our constituencies. Our hope is that when she comes in, she will fast-track the issues of making sure that those technical training institutes have enough tutors and tools for training so that they are not just “white elephant” projects, but will impact on our young people who want to go to technical institutes. Hopefully, this year, we are going to do the next additional 60 technical institutes. Finally, each constituency in this country will have a well-equipped technical training institute that is going to help our youth in training. We all know where the money is. With technical institutes, you can never go wrong. As I thank my Committee, I urge this House to adopt our Motion and to support this nominee. I also want to thank the President. This time round, we got very well qualified persons. From the time we started discussing this from yesterday, today, if you look at somebody like Dr. Mwinzi on her role in rebranding of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector and technical training institutes and her experience in public financial management, the project planning and management of technical institutes, policy formulation and implementation, she answered the questions very well. I want to congratulate the President and his Deputy for giving us qualified persons. We are hoping that they are going to make Kenyans proud. They have very good curriculum vitaes (CVs). The best thing we would expect from these nominees is to go and do the best for this country. Without adding more, I beg to move. I want to request my Deputy, Hon. Melly, to second. Thank you.

I was told by the previous Speaker--- I came in much earlier and my card came off. He told me to put it there. I was supposed to speak even before. I do not know whether he briefed you when you came. He told me to put it on the intervention slot because my card came off when I was pulling these papers much earlier. The Clerks-at-the-Table are aware of that. I have just been sitting here waiting.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I am also a victim of this. We have been sitting here. I have been pressing the intervention button. Every other time it comes on and off and so we are taken back. I will request that you allow us to participate in this.

Have you been counselled from the Clerk-at-the-Table or from your side? You people press those things too many times and remove them. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I want to second and support the appointment for Dr. Dinah Mwinzi as the PS for Technical and Vocational Education. I want to first of all thank the President because this time round, he has looked at regional balance and also considered gender. He followed our Constitution. Even with the PSs, we have a good number of the other gender. The President is very alive to what our Constitution requires - the face of this country. I want to note that Dr. Mwinzi is very qualified and she understands her job. She articulates the issues that are in technical education. In fact, with the establishment of technical training institutes across the country - which are the flagship projects of Jubilee - this new department with such a very good professional, we are going to see to it that all over the country, the technical training institutes will be supervised well. They will be completed and will be staffed with qualified human resource noting very well that, for this country to attain Vision 2030, we must have qualified middle level manpower. From her CV, Dr. Dinah Mwinzi is such a qualified person to take us to the next level. In her reputation and integrity, it was noted that she is above board. We expect to ensure that this new department moves with zeal and ensures that our country moves ahead. I support. Thank you.

All right, Members. I take it that the way the request list is, is how you want to contribute, whether you had pressed it earlier or whichever way so that everybody has a chance. Member for Kajiado North, we start with you.

Thank you, Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this chance to contribute to this Motion. I want to support the appointment of Dr. Dinah Mwinzi for the State Department for Vocational and Technical Training. She is qualified academically and she also has the experience to do the job. She is getting the job at the time the country is realising that technical education is also very important in building our country. All along, we have concentrated on academics that leads to white collar jobs but now, the country is turning to technical training. That is how she comes in and she is worth the salt and she will do it. I also believe that it is education that can bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. If she concentrates on technical training, it will do that. She is highly qualified. What I can say - as other Members have said - she is coming to the Public Service when it is being accused of corruption and tribalism. The country is very low at this point. I would request the PSs and Dr. Mwinzi to make sure that they do not enter into the trap of corruption in the country. She might find corruption systems in the public sector that will derail her performance.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, as a country, we have done very well in academics and also in the economy. However, the economy is normally driven by the private sector. So, we would like also the public sector to pull up its socks to make sure that, at least, the resources that The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

we have in the country are utilised for the correct purpose so that our country can develop. The previous speakers were concentrating on who has been appointed and whether they had been appointed along tribal lines. I would like, in the future, the person who is being promoted to state the county of origin because you find people who are bearing names and yet they were born and bred in Nairobi. They might not get the job because they do not come from the county. So, in future, let us take all those issues into consideration.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. The Constitution of Kenya provides the President with executive authority derived from the election by the people of Kenya. Through the same Constitution, the President can delegate executive authority to the appointees that he gets to work with him. So, in every aspect, we must trust the judgement of the President because his performance will be judged depending on the people that he appoints. The only thing that we might need to consider is regional balance and ethnic diversity that reflects the face of Kenya.

When you look at these nominees, the President has done a good job. We will support him and his nominees. The only thing that we would tell these nominees is that it is very easy to get these jobs through the President’s appointment. However, the President has recently led the way. If you are corrupt in this country, you will lose your job. So, I want to advise my friends, our brothers and sisters who have been appointed by the President that this is just a beginning in the Public service of the people of Kenya. They must work hard and stay away from corrupt dealings.

The President has shown the way; that no matter how close you are perceived to be to him, you will lose your job if you are corrupt. So, the only way to keep your job is to serve the people of Kenya and stay away from corruption. We have seen people who have been perceived to be very close to the President. Some of them were chest-thumping that they will not leave their jobs because they are too close to the President. However, it always comes back to where the authority of the President was derived from; which is the public or the people of Kenya. When the people of Kenya feel that you are doing them a disservice by being corrupt, the President has no option but to act in a way that the people of Kenya want him to act. So, I want to wish them well but I want them to know that they will be serving the people of Kenya. Anytime the people of Kenya feel that they are not doing well and are corrupt, they will lose their jobs.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I wanted to contribute on the previous Motion, but I will do it. My contribution will be very general. It was necessary that the Government and the President of the Republic of Kenya fast-tracked the appointment of PSs. It will add some value but I am a worried Kenyan. Kenya is experiencing an economic crisis and financial constraints. Many Kenyans are not getting good public service because of the huge wage Bill. I was shocked when the President increased the PSs from 20 to 41. I thought that the President would appoint a lean Government with lean PSs and Cabinet Secretaries. I strongly felt that the President did not consider the economic crisis facing this country, the huge wage Bill of this country and the lack of capacity of this country to finance The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

many projects, especially the national ones. He did not consider that, sometimes, there is even the delay of payment of county government expenses and expenditure. As Members of Parliament, we are all aware that this country is unable to generate sufficient revenue to cater for different services and development.

I feel that the President did not care about this country in appointing a huge number of PSs. One PS might earn a salary of Kshs1million. The other thing that I want to say is that we are not conveyor belts. We should reject some of these appointments so that we save this country the agony of paying unnecessary officials. I was informed recently that one of the ministries with three new PSs has one directorate which is vocational training. It has been devolved. It will deal with the village polytechnics. That PS will be very idle and helpless to handle it.

About 80 per cent of these appointees are not from the public service. They are not mainstream civil servants who have grown into the cadre and should have been appointed. This will demotivate most of the able and ---

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity to contribute. I would like to support the appointment of Dr. Dinah because of the experience she has. First of all, her education is impeccable. She has got various degrees. She has undergraduate, masters and PhD degrees along with other diploma certificates and professional courses. So, in terms of education, she is really qualified. Two, she is also very experienced. Thirdly, the very fact that she is a woman who is going to head a technical college as a PS is a good thing for the women of this country. That is an area that not many women are associated with. Technical education is always associated with men heading the institutions, but not women. So, this is a role model. Many women will now vie or go for positions that are more technical and science-based. It is an encouragement to this country.

I want to conclude by my observations since yesterday. I did not get an opportunity to contribute yesterday. Even today, I took a long time to get this chance. However, I want to say that the appointments that are being done are very good in terms of the people who qualify for those positions. Most of the nominees are really qualified and experienced people. Even if they are young because they were born in the late 1960’s, they still have good papers one can be proud of.

The one thing that is lacking, and which the President should consider all the time, is regional balance. It is being raised on the Floor, but we are treating it as a very small matter. It is a serious matter. We have to have regional balance for everybody to feel that they are included in the appointments and that they are part and parcel of this country. If we are talking about one country and one nation, then we need to embrace everybody. Certain areas are neglected all the time. One such area is where I come from - Siaya. Look at all these appointments! Ever since I came to this Parliament in 2013, nobody from Siaya has been appointed, unless you are talking about the CS for Defence, Ms. Rachel Omamo. She is the only one. Women from Siaya are never there in the appointments that are done. It is not that they are not there, but they are not seen. How does the President nominate people? We may need to forward names to him. Can he allow us to do that so that we can help him to balance the country? We can help the President to identify the right people as well from our region so that we do not feel excluded.

Member for Tinderet, what is the problem? The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I want to rise on a point of order to remind the Member that the PS for State Department for Youth and Public Service is Mrs Lilian Omollo. The Member should not fault the President. The face of the country is there.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me the opportunity to join my colleagues in congratulating the newly appointed PS for Vocational Training Dr. Dinah Cherotich Mwinzi is highly qualified. She has done her Doctorate Degree in Educational and Communication Technology. She has a wide experience in public service, having served for the last 25 years in public service. She has taught at Moi University. She is currently sitting as a Director of Vocational Training. She has done a lot in terms of development of national policy and implementation strategy for youth polytechnics and vocational trainings. Her coming in as an Accounting Officer for this department will help us achieve the Vision 2030 policy of industrialization in this country. In this nation, we were missing a link because everybody was rushing for degree programmes, leaving the vocational courses – courtesy of the TTIs that the Jubilee Government has now started to initiate in every constituency. I am lucky to be part of that initiative. In my constituency, we have a TTI that is coming up and it will help train our youth in technical courses. Kenyans are Kenyans. Those who have been appointed are Kenyans. We need not be complaining and saying: “They do not come from my region” or “they do not come from this tribe.” We are appointing Kenyans. Those who are interested in serving this nation must join the Government so that they can be given the opportunity to serve. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker.

Thank you very much my Chairlady and Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I stand to support the nomination of Dr. Mwinzi to be the Principal Secretary for Department on Vocational and Technical Training. I sat through the vetting process of that lady. She was articulate and to the point. I believe she is the right candidate for the nomination to that docket. I urge her to look into the issue of unpaid teachers in that department. There are about 1,274 trainers who have gone unpaid for about a year. So, when she gets on her desk, she should work round the clock to make sure that those teachers are paid. I support her nomination.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support the nomination and appointment of Dr. Mwinzi. She is qualified as you can see from her curriculum vitae. She got Division I. She did a Masters in Communication and Technology and she also holds a PhD. Dr. Mwinzi is qualified for the job because when you look at her experience, for a long time, she has been working in the Ministry of Education as a Director. We believe when she is confirmed to the position of a PS, she is going to assist the country to push forward technical trainings for our youth. The only thing I want to tell her, if she is confirmed, is to be very careful about corruption.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I want to thank my Committee members for the great support they have showed during the exercise. I also want to thank all Members of Parliament for positively supporting our Motion. Since I might not have another chance to speak in this House, I would like to wish all the Members of Parliament, the people of Murang’a County and the entire country at large a very merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2016. I thank the President and his Deputy for nominating Dr. Mwinzi. My prayer is that Dr. Dinah Mwinzi will do the country proud and especially Members of Parliament who are already constructing their new TTIs. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I beg to reply.

APPOINTMENT OF PRINCIPAL SECRETARIES FOR STATE DEPARTMENTS FOR SOCIAL SECURITY AND SOCIAL SERVICES, ARTS AND CULTURE AND GENDER AFFAIRS.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I beg to move:- THAT, this House appoints the following Principal Secretaries:- Mrs. Susan N. Mochache, Principle Secretary State Department for Social Security and Services; Mr. Joseph Robert Okundo, Principal Secretary, State Department for Arts and Culture and Mrs. Zeinab W. Hussein, Principal Secretary State Department for Gender Affairs. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Ms. Susan was interviewed and vetted by our Committee. She has relevant qualifications. When she appeared before the Committee, she was escorted by her spouse. This was great support. In fact, that happened to almost all the lady nominees who came before the Committee. We are urging the men, in future, to come along with their spouses too. Madam Susan holds a Master of Science in Communication Management from the University of Scotland, United Kingdom. She also has Bachelors Degree in International Business Administration from the United States International University. She has also sat for KCSE. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

The nominee has undergone professional training in various areas. They include programmes in change management, negotiation, execution, mentorship and also strategic methods and project structuring, among others. The nominee is currently serving at the Communication Authority of Kenya as a Director Universal Service Obligation and Funding to date. She also worked with Safaricom as a Dealer Management Administrator. The other organizations she has worked for include Brutal Limited where she served as a Distributor Manager, Lonrho Motors East Africa where she served as a sales administrator. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, she also chaired the national committee that developed the Kenya National Broadcasting Strategy through consensus building over a period of 18 months. She conceptualised a greater statistic unit that was responsible for publicised Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector, publication and national survey. She has vast experience in social assistant related programmes such as providing leadership on establishment of university access to fund, which involved policy development, legislation, regulation and the operation framework for the fund. On integrity, Ms. Mochache has never been dismissed from office. She has never been charged in a court of law. The Committee recommends that she has the relevant experience and knowledge on topical issues that touches on the Ministry she has been nominated to. Mr. Joseph Robert Okudo, the nominee for State Department of Arts and Culture---

The Temporary Deputy Speaker (

Hon. Kajwang’): Hon. Vice-Chairlady, your time is coming down. Please, move down to all the nominees you want to talk about.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Mr. Joseph Robert Okudo has relevant qualification and knowledge that can inspire the Ministry he has been nominated to represent. Ms. Zeinab has vast experience in her area of appointment. She is young and vibrant. She is full of energy. She has relevant experience as she has worked in regions across East and Central Africa and different parts globally. She has technical skills. She is qualified for the position. I beg to move. I would like to ask Hon. Wesley Korir to second.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I second. The President did a good job on these nominations. The issue of gender was considered since we have two women and one man. All the nominees are qualified. Ms. Susan Mochache and Zeinab are young and energetic. They also have good family values. They are qualified. Joseph Robert Okudo is old but the Department he has been appointed to needs someone with experience on the culture of this country, which he has. I want to reiterate the issue that many Members have talked about - tribalism. How does one know where I come from by looking at my name? This issue should be revisited. We must understand what our last names mean. We are judged by our last names. We just approved a Principal Secretary who has a middle name of a Kalenjin and a last name of a Kamba and yet, we judge them by which tribe they come from. We should scrap our last names so that people are judged according to the qualifications, but not at looking their second names and telling the tribes they are from and yet, one might have been born in Nairobi or in other parts of the country. My kids are from different countries but they are Kipruto and Kipchumba, but you cannot judge them because of their last names. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I rise to support the Motion. I have been here since morning waiting to contribute. We have looked at the appointees credentials and they meet suitability requirements. Looking at their databases in terms of their conceptual competencies, technical skills and human relation skills, they meet the requirements. The appointees do not have any integrity issues. This list is a combination that has been well researched. We hope they will set standards, control and bring order and sanity in this sector which is in disarray. The individual appointees may meet the requirements but, at the end of the day, the constitutional requirement provides that the composition of the Ministries, departments and agencies of the Government must reflect the face of the nation. The face of the nation is reflected in these nominees as opposed to the other nominees discussed earlier. Gender, generational and regional balance have been reflected.

If you look at the entire appointees, none really comes from Uriri and even by extension from Migori County. I am saying that this is a particular example where the reflection shows clearly that the face of the nation is reflected there.

I am making this comment because Members, we need to discuss this issue of the face of Kenya properly. It is only the face of Kenya when I see a name which resembles mine. But when I do not see a name that resembles mine, it is not the face of Kenya. That is what I am seeing from the Chamber. But, anyway, proceed and finish. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

I was only pointing that in this particular case, the reflection shows that we have generational, gender and regional balance. That is what I am trying to point out. Otherwise, these are Kenyans with integrity and competencies that are really required to perform the duties of that Government Department.

The reason I asked is because I want to ask Members that if you are a member of the Committee whose Report we are discussing, you would do a favour by allowing other Members who are not members of the Committee to also have a piece of the pie. Please. Proceed.

You are right, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I want to support this Motion and also thank the President because we are dealing with a very complicated situation. We are dealing with a situation where there are multiplicities of things that are happening. We are supposed to be talking about growth and the people who should steer this growth. We have to start somewhere.

Member for--- This is a Meru affair, I think. You look at your Standing Orders. You will know that if you stand between the Speaker and the person speaking, it is highly out of order. All right! Proceed.

I was just saying that the appointments in various sectors so far have been good because we are dealing with a major aspect of reforms, changes that are taking place not only here, but globally. As a nation, we have to align ourselves to what is going on out there. When you look at the Department which we used to call Labour and has been changed to Social Security and Services, it is very important in our social life. We have talked about how we can take care of the poor and the marginalised in this country, and it has not been possible. But I hope with the appointment of Susan Mochache specifically to deal with that area, it will take off. Some of the aspects which are important in life tend to be marginalised by others. In a place like the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) where this comes from, people thought about money while there. I believe it will now make sense now that we have somebody dealing specifically with that.

We have not recognised arts, culture and our talents. Kenya is one country that has not recognised its talents. We have the whiz kids in America. They came and performed here, but we did not recognise them.

30 seconds. Well, you will have to live with my interjections because they are part of the debate. Give him 30 seconds to wind up his point. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Sorry, I was just saying we have many skilled people. We have Kenyans of talent but we have not been able to harness their skills because people tend to be interested in money most of the time and not creativity. So, I believe that sector and the persons appointed will perform. The issue of gender affairs is very important and has been left behind until we have had to nominate Members of Parliament to come here and perform the role of balancing. I hope this can now go on well after the appointment of Zeinab Hussein into that position.

Thank you very much, Hon.Temporary Deputy Speaker. I have been waiting for my turn to come until I thought that my gadget was not working properly. I support the appointments and I want to remind Members of this esteemed House that it is the prerogative of His Excellency the President or now the Presidency to compile a Cabinet or constitute a Government. In this case, the President tried very much. This time, they have tried in terms of capacity. If the country needs capacity, put people with capacity. One thing I notice is that we are grappling with a huge wage bill. Even my good friend, the Member of Parliament for Gatundu, is trying to float something called Punguza Mzigo meaning, reduce the luggage. We thought the President would have started by consolidating some Ministries. For the purpose of effective service delivery, dismembering a Ministry is not good. However, we can withstand it because we want effective service delivery. I believe that proper capacity will be exhibited in these new appointments. The Members who have spoken before me have talked about regional balancing, which people narrowly read to mean tribalism. It is a constitutional threshold that needs to be met. There is the rule on gender and rule on regional balancing. I believe that the leaders will read from this but I also want to think that the Presidency was very good because I live in the neighbourhood. During the campaigns, the Jubilee Government expressed their campaign gimmick, which was that when they take power, they will divide it amongst themselves. If they are living by it, they are doing what they vowed to do. I want to advice my Opposition colleagues to wait for their turn and demonstrate their vows. I say so because during 24 years of Moi’s tenure, people, especially my friends the Kikuyus, cried wolf that appointments were skewed, and that it was Kalenjins who were benefiting. I realized that during Moi’s tenure, the top most position in civil service, that is, Head of Civil Service was held by the able and educated Hon. Dr. Sally Kosgey. Otherwise, it always went to other tribes. Treasury was always headed by other tribes. I believe that my good friends in the Presidency will learn from that and give other Kenyans a chance. I want to wish all the nominees well. I saw their files which were brought before our Committee. They are very able people. I believe that they will effectively deliver service to the people of this country; more so, at a time when the economy is not doing well. We are looking for people who are very committed and competent. We are looking for people who are going to add value.

Member for Muhoroni, I hope I did not hear you to promote “our time to eat” principle. Anyway, you have said it. Member for Kasipul. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. I have actually been waiting for long, but you have remembered me. I rise to support the nominees. They are qualified; they have various experiences. We support them. Less than three years ago, we received names of nominees in this House and we vetted them. Those persons were appointed and they served for a while. However, corruption allegations came up. We must deal with this. We advise the nominees to think about this country. Should it collapse, we will go nowhere. We may end up seeking refuge in Somalia. I wish to urge all of us to be cautious about corruption. The departments where we have the nominees are very key. We have the State Department of Social Security Services where Mrs. Susan N. Mochache has been nominated. We have the Departments of Arts and Culture and Gender Affairs. These are actually very key departments. Social protection is where we have to consider the cash transfers to the senior citizens, the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) and others. So, care should actually be taken so that the senior citizens can get their rightful share. We should not want to see the old citizens, like the retired people, going to the NSSF offices several times and not getting their funds. Much as the nominees meet the gender rule, the regional balance has to be considered. This is what President Obama condemned when he came to this country. The Pope came and condemned the country on tribalism and corruption and we are still repeating the same. Kindly, let the President be advised that enough is enough. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me the opportunity to also congratulate the President for this well thought out appointment of the people who are going to serve this country and drive it to the next level. Like my colleagues who have spoken ahead of me have said, the people who have been chosen, Mrs. Susan N. Mochache, Mr. Joseph Robert Okudo and Mrs. Zeinab W. Hussein, are very qualified people. In all fairness, these are young people who represent the interest of the majority of Kenyans. As we all know, 75 per cent of the populace which is going to vote in 2017 is below 35 years. Mrs. Susan Mochache and the like represent that kind of a group. Our hope is that, in their competence, they will find it in their heart to serve the old, especially when they are going to be officially in the office. They need to represent the interest of the youth and the old who have suffered in this country for a long time. Ms. Susan Mochache is a lady I know very well. Just like the Report has stated, she is a very competent person. I appreciate the Report that has been done by the Committee and acknowledge that it actually conforms to what we all know about her and the other officers who have been nominated for the offices. As Parliament, we promise that we are going to support them so that they can give Kenyans value for money and ensure that Kenyans gain and grow to the next level. As we all know, it can only be somebody at a time. We all cannot be there at the same time. They have been given an opportunity to serve.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

I would also want to add my voice in congratulating and thanking my colleagues for having done a very good job in vetting Mrs. Susan N. Mochache, Mrs. Zeinab W. Hussein and Mr. Joseph Okudo. More so, I would like to thank the President for having seen it fit to have a gender department. A Principal Secretary will be in charge of that gender department and in a stand- alone Ministry which is going to be in charge of the youth and gender in our country.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. Mrs. Mochache, Mrs. Zeinab and Mr. Okudo are people who are well educated. They all have Masters Degrees. Mrs. Zeinab Hussein has a Masters degree in Public Administration from Harvard University. She will do a lot as she has been in the human resource sector and she will add a lot of value to the Ministry. Equally, Mrs. Susan Mochache and Mr. Okudo will add a lot of value to the respective positions that they have been appointed. Thank you and I beg to support.

Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I want to support these appointments. These are fine Kenyans that have been given the responsibility to serve the country. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, allow me to say that I personally know quite a number of the nominees we have had occasion to look at. Not necessarily the names that we are looking at right now, but just to applaud the professional competence of quite a number of the names that this House has looked at. I congratulate Kenyans like Mrs. Nancy Karigithu, a lady I have worked with in certain quarters, with absolutely top qualifications. When I served as Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Dr. Mwinzi was my Director for Technical Training; a lady of absolute top professional competence. There is no doubt that she will be a fantastic Principal Secretary in charge of Vocational Training. Therefore, I want just to say that some of us are happy that the President has seen it fit to shake up his Government, freshen it up, give it some new face and also relieve the burden of responsibilities on certain departments that were over-loaded by creating additional departments.

I would like to conclude by stating that when you are a head of state, you have the power and the responsibility to choose those people you want to work with. If you want to work with members from your tribe only, it is up to you. Ultimately, if you pay the political price, it is up to you. We should not be making too much noise as to who the President has chosen to work with. That comes with the executive fiat, pleasures and burdens. So, let us watch and see and we wish all these Kenyans well. We just pray that they will bring a new valve in public service, so that we can see a better functioning Government moving forward. I wish them well and I support.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I support this Motion. This process goes a long way to carrying our nascent democracy and the role that the legislature has been accorded in vetting these appointments. Whatever methodologies we use and the details that are taken, it all ends up with the fact that we, as the elected representatives of the people, have been accorded that opportunity, which is our obligation under the Constitution, to process and approve these appointments. Therefore, the collectivity of the House is binding. Reservations or approvals are accepted because it is the nature of our diversity. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

Secondly, it is important to note that, increasingly, we are also helping this country raise the threshold on leadership expectations. I sat in some of the Committees and saw how the nominees took time to research, reflect and put their things in order. That is a step that is happening under this new dispensation and is something to celebrate. I wish all these nominees well. Many people are thinking twice before accepting State appointments because of the rising expectations caused by the oversight of Parliament and common citizens. We should all acknowledge that it is a major step forward. I wish these new Executives well.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this chance to contribute to this very important Motion. I have an issue because that position has been vacant for some time. The President knows our calendar and how we work in Parliament. It is only fair that he respects Parliament and also as National Assembly, we should not use the Standing Order we are using at the moment. I support the nominees especially the lady who has been given a job - Mrs. Susan Mochache. It is not because she comes from Kisii, but she is competent. When we talk about how the appointments have been done, it is not our responsibility to see whether the President is doing the right thing. This will be decided by the voters when we go for the elections, on whether he has served this country fairly and has done the job he was supposed to do, so that Kenyans can consider and give him another chance. Looking at these nominees, I support the politicians especially Hon. Charles Keter. He is someone I have known. I know his family. His children and mine are in the same school and we go to the same church. His wife and my wife are friends. I support this appointments but the critical thing is this: Does this help this country become united. Do these appointments make the country move forward as a nation, bring cohesion and efficiency? Some of the positions being filled now have been vacant for six months or more, since some people left office. One is not sure whether these positions are really relevant to the country. I support these nominations as all of us have done. Let us hope that the people who have been given these jobs will help this country move forward and minimize corruption, which has been a big challenge and has been spoken about now and again. Another issue is about the anti- corruption body. They gave a conflicting report on a very serious issue by making allegations against a Member that he should not be cleared and the following day, they changed. I am not sure of that organization because it has been given serious responsibilities to prosecute and investigate. While signing letters, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) should check for meaning and have a clear mind.

Sorry, Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me the opportunity to support the appointment of the three candidates in the Ministry of Labour and Social Services. More than 10 people have spoken before me and I am not complaining because I am a Member of the Committee on Labour and Social Welfare and I heard what you said. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor.

I was among those who vetted the three candidates and they proved to be very intelligent. Out of the three, two were women, young and intelligent. In the CVs of the three candidates, each one of them has gone beyond masters degrees. They have done a lot of work and have got a lot of experience. We cannot stop talking of regional balance. Let me tell you that out of all the Principal Secretaries (PSs), none has come from Kisii and Nyamira counties. We do not even have one in this country. So, we cannot stop talking. I heard my colleague from South Mugirango talking of Mochache. Mochache is a Luhya. She is from Western Kenya. Once a lady from Kisii is married by a Luo, then she is a Luo. She is going to bear children for the Luo people and their children will be Luo and not Kisii.

Thank you, Hon Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity that I may also comment on what the President has done to nominate the people with a lot of reputation to take up the appointments. I also belong to the Departmental Committee on Labour and Social Welfare and I met them personally. This country has produced very many young men who are very educated. When you look at their papers, they can do a lot for this country. This time, we are giving the people a chance to lead the ministries and help the President to clean up the mess that we have seen. When the President came here and addressed this House in March, I was moved---

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I want to thank Members for supporting these nominees. These nominees were outstanding in terms of their performance at the Committee level and we found them fit. We want to thank the President for giving this country people with technical skills, people who will add value and move this country forward. As already said by other Members, the three nominees were eloquent, intelligent and visionary. They had great dreams for the different departments and ministries that they are going to serve. I thank Members. I want to give one minute to my Chairman who was away and he has just come in.

Thank you very much. All right Members. Owing to the composition of the Chamber again, I defer the vote on the Motion appearing as Order No.13 to such other time as shall be practical to take a vote there on.